


Odd Duck

by ineedthislikeaholeinthehead



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit RPF
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Body Image, Developing Relationship, First Kiss, First Time, Hand Job, M/M, Oral Sex, Prompt Fill, Self-Esteem Issues, Top!Lee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 14:31:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4568046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineedthislikeaholeinthehead/pseuds/ineedthislikeaholeinthehead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Richard isn't very confident about his looks, and he has absolutely no idea why some one as gorgeous as Lee would ever want to be seen with him.  As much as he likes Lee, he's terrified of getting too close, worried that Lee won't like him anymore once he sees him naked.  Lee is getting some serious blue balls, and starts worrying that Richard won't have sex with him because he doesn't like him.   Can their relationship withstand Richard's low self-esteem?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Odd Duck

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Hobbit Kink Meme Fill:
> 
> http://hobbit-kink.livejournal.com/11683.html?thread=23691939#t23691939
> 
> We all know how Richard has said he doesn't like the way he looks and that he's shy and not very confident. So Richard and Lee have been on a couple of dates and decide to make it official between them, Richard keeps putting off sex and making excuses. Lee thinks it's because Richard doesn't fancy him enough and was too polite to say no to being his boyfriend. Lee finally confronts him and gets the truth; Richard hates the way he looks and doesn't want to disappoint Lee. Lee reassures Richard and spends his time showing Richard his gorgeous he is, gaining his trust and they finally have sex. 
> 
> I hope I did it justice!

Richard knows the first time he sees Lee that he wants him. But he files the attraction away, like he always does. Reminding himself that there was no way someone as fun and sweet and attractive as Lee would ever even consider someone like him. He tells himself this frequently enough that he’s got himself convinced when Lee bumps into him a few days later that it must be a coincidence. 

They collide, and Lee would have fallen over if not for Richard’s quick reflexes as his hand grabs Lee’s arm. 

“Sorry.” he says sheepishly, but Richard could care less, a few seconds of physical contact with Lee is better than none. “I”m a bit on the clunky side.” He admits.

“Good thing you’re an elf.” Richard teases. He doesn’t know why he bothers, it’s not like wit is going to save him… and it’s not like he has much comedic timing. But Lee smiles anyways. 

“Yeah. That will be fun.” he says. wrapping his hand around the back of his neck. Richard can’t help but notice how adorable he looks. 

“Well, I suppose I better be getting on my way.” Richard starts.

“Yeah. Me too.” They both turn back in the directions they were going. Lee turns around. “Hey. You wouldn’t want to go out and grab a bite to eat later tonight, would you?”

Richard smiles. “That would be delightful.”

***********************************************  
It’s not a date. Richard thinks and he runs deodorant under his arms for the third time. 

It is not a date. He tells himself as he smacks aftershave on his neck, the only place he’s technically allowed to shave. 

It is NOT a date. He’s almost convinced himself as he decides between three shirts (None of which are good enough. Nothing is good enough. You can’t hide hideous with clothing.)

There’s a knock on his door, he throws on the least disappointing shirt, and goes to open it while working on his buttons. 

The second he does, all he can think is Oh god, please let this be a date.

Lee always looks gorgeous. He probably wakes up looking gorgeous, though Richard tries to push away the idea because he’ll never get to see what Lee looks like first thing in the morning.   
Tonight, he looks extra gorgeous, his hair slicked back, perfectly filling out a t-shirt and tight jeans. Christ, even his shoes turn Richard on, and he feels so much guilt over even thinking that a perfect creature like this would bother to spend time with him.

But he is spending time with you, the teeny tiny part of Richard that actually wants him to be happy reminds him. He brushes it aside, still fumbling with his buttons as he invites Lee in.

He has absolutely no way of knowing how incredibly turned on Lee already is. Oh god, don’t button that shirt. He can’t help thinking. He’s used to being attracted to people, but Richard is something altogether else. He’s never met anyone so hot, yet so down to earth, and the combination is intoxicating. 

“Do you know where you want to go?” He asks, and Lee has to shake himself out of his head and back to reality. 

“Um. There’s an italian place not to far.”

“If you’d like. Shall I drive?”

“That would be wonderful.”

***********************************************  
It was time for dessert and Richard still couldn’t tell if this was a date. He’s had a great time talking with Lee, who is just as entertaining as he is handsome. 

Is he flirting? Why would he be flirting? Who the hell would flirt with me? There’s no stopping his internal monologue, and Richard wants to curse himself for his unattainable crush, because if it just wasn’t there, he’d be able to properly enjoy the budding friendship between them. 

Lee’s smiling at him, and he doesn’t know why, but it makes him smile back.

“Do you want dessert?” He asks, and Richard wants so much dessert it’s not even funny. Then he realizes Lee’s talking about pudding, and he’ll settle for that. 

They decide on splitting a piece of cake, which is huge. Truth be told, Richard would finish it himself if he wasn’t sitting here with Lee. Half the time, just the fact that they’re sitting here like this makes him feel so anxious he thinks he’ll faint. Then Lee talks and Richard can feel the pressure releasing from his shoulders. He’s so easygoing. How can he be so beautiful and so laid back and so… chill? 

And what is he doing here with me? 

They completely devour the cake, Lee takes his finger across the plate, picking up the last of the fudge, and sticks his finger in his mouth to suck it off. It nearly drives Richard mad. Why is he doing this to me? What is his game? 

Perhaps he likes to tease people? Richard wouldn’t put it past him, gorgeous as he is. Lee doesn’t seem the type who needs to toy with people’s emotions, but perhaps he is. Some people just need a lot of attention to feed their egos. And he is an actor after all. 

Of course, it’s completely possible that Lee has no idea how mad he’s driving Richard. Richard is an actor, too, and thinks he’s been doing a great job at concealing his emotions. Maybe Lee’s just a harmless flirt, and so flirty that he’d even stoop to flirting with Richard. 

The check comes and Richard moves to pay for it, but Lee grabs it first. 

“I have cash for my half.” Richard offers.

“Don’t worry about it.” Lee says. 

The air is the tiniest bit chilly as they leave the restaurant, but Lee still asks. 

“Do you want to take a little walk?”

Richard hesitates. It is almost cold, and Lee’s not wearing a jacket.

“If you want to.” 

They go around the block, then when they reach the car, they decide to go around again. It’s nicer than Richard expected, and he’s enjoying the conversation.

The ride back is silent save the radio, and Richard still can’t tell what’s going on.

He’s reserved to the idea that perhaps it’s just been a nice evening out with a castmate when Lee offers to walk him up to his place.

They stop at the door, and Richard stands there, holding his keys.

“Well then.” He starts.

“Right.” Lee replies, then takes a deep breath before going in for a kiss. 

A really good kiss. Richard felt his knees buckling and he catches himself on the door. Lee smiles at him.

“See you tomorrow?” He asked. Richard gulped and nodded, squeaked out a bye and ran into his house. He waited at the door until Lee left, then slid down in. 

He had just been out on a date with Lee Pace. 

***********************************************  
All day, he’d been convincing himself that what had happened the night before had been a hallucination. They’d had a lovely, friendly, dinner together and Lee had merely been a little overzealous saying good bye.

There was simply no way that Richard could wrap his mind around the idea that Lee would actually want to be seen in public with him. It was too much to ask for, and the fact that he wanted it so badly hurt so much. 

He didn’t have a chance to see Lee. Well, there was the commissary, but there was no way he was going to go up to Lee, while he was sitting with the other elves, and risk utter humiliation. God, he felt like he was in primary school, worry what the “cool” kids would think about him if he walked up and said hello to them.

So he stayed with his own, pretending to be interested in the shenanigans that Dean and Aidan were talking about, and only occasionally allowing himself to stare longingly at Lee. 

***********************************************  
The next day, Lee made a point to bump into Richard. If he was trying to play hard to get by not saying hi at lunch the day before, it was definitely working. He couldn’t get enough of the way Richard moved around the lot, always off somewhere in his own head. Lee wondered if Richard had thought about the night they’d gone out. It was all Lee could think about, and he was determined that there would be more. More dinners, more walks, and especially more kisses. He had to take a deep breath, just the thought of kissing him again got Lee riled up.

He wasn’t the least bit coy when he found Richard, glorious nose buried deep in a dog eared and well loved copy of The Hobbit. 

“You know what they say.” Lee said, startling Richard out of wherever he’d been holed up. “All work and no play makes Richard a dull boy.”

“I think you’ll find I’m a very dull boy, indeed.” He said, hiding behind his book again. 

“I very much doubt that.” Lee said. Richard smiled behind his book, until Lee snatched it away from him. “What are you doing tonight?” Lee asked, flipping through pages and pages filled with Richard’s notes.

Richard grabbed back the book. “I hadn’t made any plans.” He admitted. 

“We should go out. There’s a new place I want to try.”

“Why do you want me to come with you?”

Lee gave him a look, was he that dense.

“Because, you’re fun.” 

“I’m Fun?”

“Tons of fun.”

Richard laughed, and it melted Lee’s heart. 

“You’re an odd duck, Lee.”

“Does that mean you’ll come out with me?”

“Sure. Whatever you want.”

“That’s what I want. Pick you up at 8?”

“A bit late for dinner, wouldn’t you say?”

“Alright. You win. 7:30.”

Richard smiled and Lee went weak in the knees. 

“7:30.”

***********************************************  
Richard was second guessing himself again. This was probably not a date. The other night had been a fluke, and this was Lee’s way of letting him down gently. 

The second he’d got home, he’d jumped into a shower that he knew was too hot, scrubbing himself too hard, hoping against hope that if he just washed enough, he’d be able to wash away the ugly, and someone new, someone that Lee would be happy to be seen with, would appear.

But, as he wiped the steam off the mirror, the same old face was unhappily staring back at him. 

He’d changed shirts an embarrassing amount of times, obsessed over his shoes, his belt, his hair, everything he could think of. It didn’t matter though, at the end of the day, there was nothing he could do that could fully, or even partially hide his hideousness from Lee.

When the doorbell rang, his stomach was doing flips, he had no idea how he was going to eat dinner with it so tied in so many knots. But he opens the door anyways, and there’s Lee, leaning on the frame, smiling, and all of a sudden, Richard feels fine. 

“Hey.” He says, in that sweet American accent with just the slightest hint of a twang lurking somewhere underneath the words. 

“Hullo.” Richard responds, cursing his stupid bloody northern accent. He has no idea how wild it drives Lee, who coughs and stands up straight in hopes it will distract Richard from his heart eyes. 

Richard needs no distraction, he’s already so caught up in his self hatred that anything Lee was doing would be washed away in the ocean that is Richard’s doubt. 

“Shall we go?” Lee asks. “Since I know you’re so keen to eat.” he teases, which brings a delightful flush to Richard’s delightful cheeks. 

“Yeah.” He grabs his keys. “You want me to drive?”

“It’s actually pretty close. You mind walking?”

“Whatever you want.” Richard follows Lee down the street. It’s the first time in… ever, he has to speed up to keep up with Lee’s ridiculously long legs. Lee notices and attempts to slow down. He likes the way it feels when they’re both standing close to each other on the small side walk. 

They reach the restaurant, and stand around for a minute before going in. 

“Do you want a drink?” Lee asks. “I’m having one.”

“Just house red, please.” He tells the waitress. She smiles at him, and he blushes again. He assumes kind hearted people smiled at John Merrick from time to time, too. 

“I’ll have a Cosmo.” Lee says, smiling back at the waitress, like normal people do. Richard laughs as the waitress walks away. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.” Lee says, still smiling. “Tell me.”

“It’s just an outdated drink.”

“Well, we can’t all be classics, Mister House Red.”

Richard shrugs, still smiling. 

“I can’t believe you’re judging me on my drink order.”

“You’re judging me too.”

“Yeah, but the difference is, I think yours is cute.”

Richard hides his blush behind his menu, and they proceed to have a lovely time as Lee tells story after story, all with the aim of seeing those flush cheeks again.

***********************************************  
The walk home is gorgeous. It’s exactly the right temperature, and halfway back home, Lee grabs Richard’s hand. It’s not a grand gesture, he’s talking about constellations that he knows nothing about and their hands just sort of meet, and he takes Richard’s and keeps it with his. 

By the time they reach his doorway, Richard’s heart is beating nearly out of his chest. 

“So.” Lee breaks the silence.

“So.” Richard parrots back.

“Are you going to invite me in for coffee?” Lee asks.

“I, um… I don’t think I have any.” Richard confesses.

“Well, then. Tea. Or a nightcap. Whatever you brits drink.” 

“It’s getting a bit late.” Richard gulps. He can’t stand the thought of Lee seeing inside his place at the moment.

“Oh.. Ok.” Lee looks dejected.

“You know. Early morning call time and everything.” Richard knows he’s fidgeting, but doesn’t know how to stop it. He shoves the key in the door, still facing Lee.

“Work’s a bitch.” Lee says. Richard moves his hand on the door knob. Lee moves in for a kiss, and as their lips touch, the door opens behind them and Richard falls, flat on his ass. 

He jumps up and brushes himself off. 

“Oops.” Lee says, laughing. 

Richard gives a weak laugh, halfway hiding behind the door now.

“Sorry.” he says, then gulps. “See you soon?” he asks.

“Sure. See you soon.”   
“Great.” Richard says, giving the most nervous of smiles, and then shutting the door, practically in Lee’s face.

***********************************************  
“I don’t know what you want me to say.” Evangeline is a wonderful roommate, better than anyone could ask for. But she’s proving to be an absolutely mess as a confidant. “Maybe he’s just not that into you.”

Lee looks offended and scoffs at her.

“Excuse you. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re right. I don’t.”

“You’re absolutely no help, whatsoever.”

“Well, you’re the one who came into my bedroom at 10 ‘o'clock at night and demanded I analyze your date. How much help were you expecting?”

“More than this.”

“Uh huh.” Evangeline clicks her tongue. “Are you sure he isn’t straight?

“Absolutely no one in the entire world is fully straight.”

“Not this again.”

“Everyone has a little wiggle room.”

“Are you sure he knows it’s a date, Lee?”

“It was a date. They were both dates.”

“How do you know?”

“We kissed at the end.”

“Did you kiss him?”

“Irrelevant.”

“Was he into it?”

“He wasn’t NOT into it.”

 

“He seems pretty shy. You sure he wasn’t just being polite?”

“You’ve ruined my entire mood, you know that?”

“You’ve ruined my entire sleep schedule. So we’re even.”

Lee stormed off into his own room. He wasn’t always one for so much dramatics, but Evangeline had just made him doubt himself, and he didn’t know how else to let out his frustrations.

As he lay in bed, feeling bad and wondering if he’d pushed poor Richard into something he wanted nothing to do with, he thought back over the last few days, and was convinced that Evangeline was wrong. It couldn’t be all one sided...could it?   
***********************************************

Lee had stayed away as long as he could.. which amounted to a whopping day and a half. He strode through the different crowds in the commissary and tapped Richard on the shoulder.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” He asked. Richard looked a little bewildered, but nodded. 

“Oooh, beware, fraternizing with the enemy!” Jimmy said, and Graham and Adam laughed. 

Richard paid them no attention and followed Lee out of the room. He kept walking.

“Where are we going?”

“I want a little privacy.” Lee says. “Trust me?”

“Ok.” He says, and follows Lee to his trailer.

“Make yourself at home.” Lee offers, and Richard takes a seat at the tiny table. Lee follows suit, both of them looking hilarious in the seats that are obnoxiously too small. 

“I wanted to talk to you about something.” Lee continued. 

“Oh. Ok.”

“It feels a little awkward. But I was talking to Evie last night, and she put something in my head and I can’t get it out.”

“What can I do to help?” Richard asked.

“Can you tell me… The other night, when we went out… did you know it was a date?”

Richard blushed, his damn cheeks were always giving him away. The were the second most annoying thing on his face (right after that stupid bloody nose.)

“I uh.. I wasn’t sure.”

“Oh.” Lee looked heart broken.

“I mean, I hoped it was. But I didn’t want to assume.”

“I asked you out. Twice.”

“I thought maybe you just wanted a friend.”

“Did you just want a friend?”

“Lee, I don’t know what you want me to say here.”

“I just want to know if I can ask you out on a proper date or not.”

“I’d like that, I’d like that a lot.”

Lee smiled. “Great.”

“Great.”

“So, Richard… would you go out with me this Friday?”

“I’ll have to check my calendar.”

“You’re a tease.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’d love to go out on Friday.”

Lee bent over the table and kissed Richard, who let him, but the second his tongue slipped between his lips, he pulled back.

“We’re having a proper date, Lee.”

“That’s two days from now.” 

“I have a feeling you can wait.”

***********************************************  
Waiting was killing Lee. He was feeling all sorts of frustrated, and Evangeline was fed up. 

“You should be able to wait two days to go on a date.”

“You don’t get it, Evie. It’s the third date.” Evangeline rolled her eyes.

“What sort of antiquated bullshit is that. You can’t just assume someone’s going to put out for you on the third date.”

“I can hope.”

“The first two dates don’t even count.”

“They do so.” 

“Don’t rush this, Lee. If you really like him, let him take his time.”

Lee rolled his eyes. He was going to make sure this third date was something Richard would remember.   
*******************************************  
This was an actual date. There was no denying it, Lee had said it was a date, flat out said it. And it terrified Richard. He had absolutely nothing to wear. Well, he had lots to wear, but nothing that seemed right for a real actual date. Why hadn’t he packed more?

Because you hadn’t expected anyone would actually want to date you, you stupid git. He tried to hush his brain, which was throwing about a million insults at him a minute. It didn’t matter if he was hideous, for some reason, the gorgeous creature that was Lee saw something past that, something worth taking on a date. 

And since Richard had absolutely no idea what it was that Lee thought was special enough to go out with, he was freaking the fuck out. Which was becoming his routine, at least for the last week. 

He finally settled on an outfit, and his timing was perfect. Just as he was tying his shoe, he heard a knock at the door.

And there was Lee, standing outside, with flowers. Richard rolled away from the peephole and laid on the door. He had flowers. It was so cliche, Richard loved it. He opened the door. 

“Hey.” Lee said, all smiles and perfection.

“Hey.” Richard parroted. “Are those for me?”

“Yeah. I thought I’d make it clear this was a date.” 

“You didn’t have to do that.” But it was a lie. He really did. Now, tonight, when he was home and there were a million voices in his head telling Richard that it hadn’t been a date, he’d be able to look at the flowers and tell the voices to shut up.

“I wanted to.”

“Thank you.” He realized they were still standing in the doorway. “Oh. Erm… do you want to come in while I put these in water?”

“Sure.” Lee follows him into the living room.

“I’ll be right back.” Richard says, exiting to the kitchen. He sees Lee sit down on the sofa from the corner of his eye. Where was a vase? He looked around and couldn’t find any. It wasn’t necessarily standard for a rental. He gives up and pulls out a glass, fills it with water, and lets the flowers stand in the sink so he can go back to Lee, who was lounging on the couch.

He always seemed to know how to make himself comfortable. He was like a gigantic cat. 

Richard loved the way he looked sprawled out across the sofa. He could probably watch him for hours and not get tired of it. He coughed to get Lee’s attention.

“Hey, again.”

“Hullo.”

“Come sit with me.”

Richard made his way to the sofa, gingerly sitting on the far end. Lee hopped up and sat right next to him.

“So, I was thinking we could go to the movies.”

“Really?”

“Well, I haven’t seen Prometheus yet… have you?”

Richard couldn’t think of the last thing he’d seen. He’d been so in his head lately. and it was a shame. He really liked seeing movies. It was nice to be on the audience end, without all the nerves of production. 

“Hello, Richard?” Lee snapped him back out of it. “You still with me?”

“Sorry, I’m here.”

“So what do you say to a movie?”

“It sounds great.”

***********************************************  
Richard had run to the bathroom while Lee was getting popcorn. When he came back, Lee was talking with someone, and as he continued forward, Richard noticed who it was. Peter, for all intents and purposes, their boss. 

“Hey, Richard! You’re back.” Lee said, and Peter swiveled around, giving him a smile.

“Didn’t know you two were going to be here. What a surprise.” 

“Yeah. What are you seeing?”

“Peter’s seeing Prometheus, too. Funny, huh?”

“Are you alone?”

“Yeah. I like to sneak away sometimes, You understand.”

“Completely. You should sit with us. Unless you need some time away from us, too.” Richard says, smiling though he feels incredibly uncomfortable.”

“No, No. I’d be happy to sit with my favorite Elf and Dwarf.”

“Ooh, be careful saying stuff like that. It might go to our heads.” Lee says with a wink as they all start to walk towards the theater.

***********************************************  
Halfway through the movie, Lee excuses himself. Richard waits as long as he can, and then does the same. He meets Lee in the bathroom.

“You’re not very funny, Lee.”

“What? It’s not my fault Peter was coming to the same movie as us.”

“It is your fault you’ve had your hand on my thigh for the entire show.”

“It’s a date!”

“It’s hardly a date if your boss is right next to you.”

“Just think of it as a chaperone.” Lee’s smiling, but Richard isn’t. “Ok. I’m sorry. It’s not as funny as I think it is.”

“Thank you. Now, go back to your seat, I’ll wait for a minute.”

“Alright.” And Lee hesitates for a second.

“What?” Richard asks, and Lee swoops down (not very far) and plants a kiss on Richard. 

Richard blushes, but manages to at least stay standing this time. Lee walks towards the door, turns around and smiles back at Richard.

“See you soon.” He says as he opens the door. 

***********************************************  
Richard’s laughing. Lee’s absolutely in love with Richard’s laugh, and makes a mental note to make him laugh as much as humanly possible. He takes a piece of sweet and sour chicken from his carton with his fingers and brings it to Richard’s lips. Richard eats it. 

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re weird, Lee?”

“You’ve told me that about a million times tonight.”

“It’s been true!” 

After their post movie goodbyes with Peter, Lee had suggested Chinese take away, but the restaurant they both knew was about to close when they walked in. Not wanting to inconvenience the wait staff, they took their order to go, and were back at Richard’s place, where Lee had decided to entertain them with random stories about his dog, past jobs, terrible relationships, anything else that popped into his mind. 

Richard was eating it up- along with more than his fair share of the chow mein and dumplings. 

Lee grabbed one of the dumplings from Richard’s plate and popped it in his mouth. 

“Hey!” Richard protested. 

Lee swallowed before telling him “Oh, shush. You can share.”

“What if I don’t want to share?”

Lee moved in closer, until his lips were almost on Richard’s.

“Then, I’ll convince you.” he says, before moving in closer and kissing him. 

The plates of food get placed quickly on the floor, and Lee pulls Richard in closer, waiting until Richard opens his mouth, then slipping his tongue inside. Richard can hardly contain his excitement. Lee tastes so good, he wraps his arms around his neck and takes in the magnificence of it all. If Richard could spend the rest of his life kissing Lee, he would be absolutely content. Lee’s got his knee between Richard’s legs, and he moves his hands underneath his shirt. 

Oh, god, no. Why does he have to move his hands there? He’s going to notice how completely weird his body is any minute now and be absolutely disgusted. Richard pulls Lee’s hand away from his torso, holding it instead. Lee just moves his other hand onto the other side. His hand tugs at Richard’s shirt, and he’s all but ready to start pulling it up when Richard pulls away from his mouth.

“What’s wrong?” Lee asks, and Richard responds with a huge yawn.

“I’m sorry, Lee. I think it’s getting late.”

“It’s 11.”

“Sure. Here. But my body is still on London time.”

“Wouldn’t it be earlier there?”

“It’s all mixed up.”

“Right. Maybe you just need some coffee.”

“I don’t really drink it.”

“Tea then.”

“I don’t want to be up all night. We’ve both got early call times tomorrow.”

“Right. I suppose I should leave then.” 

Lee moves off Richard, and he can finally breathe easy. That was too close. 

“Would you like me to box this up for you?”

“Nah. Keep it. Maybe I’ll come over tomorrow for left overs.” He says, pulling his shoes on.

Richard smiles at him. “I hope that you do.” They both get up and Richard walks Lee to the door.

“Thanks for an awesome date.” Lee says. 

“Thank you.” Richard replies, and Lee moves in for another kiss that Richard happily lets him have. 

***********************************************  
“EVIEEEEEEE!!!!” Lee screams as he opens the door.

“Shut up, Lee! It’s late!” She says, walking out of her bedroom while still trying to pull on her robe. 

“Evie, I’m going to die.” Lee said as he flopped dramatically on the couch.

“Oh really?”

“Yes. Richard is giving me blue balls.”

“You can’t die from that, Lee.”

“I’ll be the first case.” 

“What a pioneer you are.” Evangeline said, sitting down next to the 220 pounds of absolute baby currently spread out on her couch. She brushed hair out of his face and smiled down at him. He was melodramatic, but he was a really good person underneath that. “I take it your date didn’t go so well?”

Lee sat up.

“It went alright. We went to see a movie- Peter was there- we got Chinese food and took it back to his place.”

“Oooh, back to his place.”

“I’m already back here at 11:30, so it’s not worthy of any “oooh-ing””

“I told you, you can’t expect sex on a third date.”

“I would have settled for a handjob.”

“You’re incorrigible, Lee.”

“But I’m cute, right?”

“Absolutely adorable.”

“Then what’s Richard’s problem? Do you think he doesn’t like me?”

“Maybe he’s more old fashioned than you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Some people aren’t in to casual sex.”

“Uh, duh. They’re called women.”

“Stop it. You’re being a brat now.”

“Ok, I’m sorry.”

“Do you like Richard?”

“I think that’s obvious.”

“No, Lee. Not, do you want to have sex with him, do you actually like him?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have gone through all this if I didn’t.”

“All this? Lee, you’ve been on 3 dates. That’s not exactly climbing Mt. Everest.”

“It so is.”

“Do you like him like a person?”

 

“Yeah. He’s awesome.”

“Good. Then give him time. Not everyone is as DTF as you are.”

“Everyone is as Down to Fuck as me. They just don’t want to admit it.”

Evangeline just shook her head in disbelief and patted Lee’s

“It’s too late for this, Lee. Go to bed.”

***********************************************  
Luke was really cute. Not as gorgeous as Lee (as far as Richard was concerned, no one was as gorgeous as Lee) but there was no denying he was attractive. So when he passed by Richard and smiled, all Richard could do was think What the fuck was that for?

A few hours later, they pass each other in the costuming department. 

“On your toes, Sunshine.” He says as Richard nearly misses colliding with him.

“Sorry.” Luke winks at him. 

“Don’t worry. I’m sure your mind was elsewhere.” and then he’s gone.

Richard doesn’t know exactly why Luke’s being so friendly. Hot guys don’t spend their time talking to Richard. Why waste your time with a beast like him? He understands it. So why is Luke all of a sudden.. well, not flirting exactly… but paying attention to him?

You two have scenes together. It’s just that. Stop letting your imagination get away from you. Richard tells himself. But as he’s leaving for the night, Luke calls after him.

“You up for a round?” He asks. Richard accepts, purely out of curiosity. 

***********************************************  
The pub they end up in is rowdy. Luke seems to know the place, and he grabs a booth with ease. The waitress comes by and he orders a beer for both of them. Richard doesn’t really drink beer, but he takes a polite sip all the same. 

“So, you seem different.”

“Different?”

“Yeah, there’s something about you the last few days.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Come on, Richard. Something new’s happening to you, isn’t it? I think I even caught you talking to people at lunch the other day.”

“I didn’t realize you were paying such close attention, Luke.” Richard didn’t think anyone paid him attention. 

“I don’t have to. There’s a sparkle in your eyes, and I think I know why.”

“Oh, do you now?”

“Aye. Do you want to know what I think?”

“I’m not sure… do I?”

“I think you let Lee slip it to you.”

Richard nearly choked on his beer.

“I did not!”

Luke laughed and took another drink. 

“That’s exactly what I’d say if I’d slept with Lee, too.”

“Well that’s not fair. Why wouldn’t you want to sleep with Lee? He’s gorgeous.”

“Which is why you slept with him.”

“I didn’t. We just went out on a date.”

“Well if you went on a date, why didn’t you sleep with him?”

“You don’t have to sleep with someone just because they buy you dinner, Luke.”

“Yeah, but it’s a good excuse.”

“You’re a pig.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be a pig. I just don’t understand why you didn’t sleep with Lee if you like him.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“That’s what I just said! So enlighten me.”

“You’ll think I’m insane.”

“Oh, Richard. I already think you’re insane.”

“Oh, so that’s a reason why I should tell you then?”

“I could guess.”

“No, that’s fine.”

“You’re not straight are you?”

“No. I never agreed to this guessing game though.”

“And you’re not married. Hmmm. Is there something wrong with the eh..” Luke motioned towards his crotch.

“Do you have to be so crass?”

“Well, I wouldn’t, if you’d just tell me what’s wrong.”

“Fine. I’m… Intimidated.”

“So it is a widdle willy problem.”

“No. Well, maybe a little now. But I don’t mean it like that… It’s just… Lee’s so good looking.”

“As we’ve established.”

“And I’m… well… look at me.”

“I’m not quite following.”

“I’m not much to look at.”

“Well if that isn’t the biggest crock of bullshit I’ve ever heard.”

“I’m serious. There he is all ethereal and perfect, and I just can’t stomach the image of it getting all mixed up in my… gutter trash.”

“Richard, you’re 6 feet 3 inches of pure northern gold.”

“That’s not funny.”

“Who’s laughing? I would be all over that, if Lee hadn’t got you first.”

Richard blushed. Luke was just being nice, but he was a good friend. 

“I told you, he didn’t “get” me.”

Luke chugged the rest of his beer. 

“All in good time, dear. All in good time.”

***********************************************  
What’re you up to? Richard looked at the top of his phone, the text came in at 1:30 in the morning.

 

Sleeping he typed back. And an instant later, Lee replied.

Lucky.

Not really. I keep on getting woken up.

Sorry.

It’s fine. Why can’t you sleep?

Up all night, thinking of you. Richard rolled his eyes. No one would stay up thinking of him.

Liar.

Why would I lie?

Because you’re trying to make a joke.

No Joke. Wish you were here.

I’m sure Evangeline would love that.

We could be quiet. Richard didn’t respond so Lee continued. I’m not a screamer… are you?

Go to bed, Lee.

***********************************************  
“You’re not annoyed at me because of last night, are you?” Lee asked Richard. They were at dinner, again. 

“Not at all.”

“Good. Because I was just teasing.”

“Oh, so you are a screamer?”

“You could come over tonight and find out.” Richard blushed, and Lee had to press his thighs together, everything about this man was too much.

“Do you want some of my noodles?”

“I’m fine.” Lee waited for a millisecond. “What are we?”

Richard gave him a confused look.

“What do you want to be?”

“I asked you first.”

“Well, we’re certainly more than just friends.”

“Glad to hear that.”

“What does the rest of your life look like, Lee?”

“Pretty boring, save you.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m extremely boring.”

“No you’re not.”

“What are you looking for here, Lee?”

“The other day, you went out for drinks with Luke.”

“Just drinks.”

“I still got jealous.”

“I didn’t know you were the jealous type.”

“Only because I don’t know where I stand.”

“You stand wherever you want to stand, Lee.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Well, it means, if you’re just looking for something fun while you’re in New Zealand.”

“I’m not.”

“Oh… then what are you looking for?”

“I don’t know. I guess, if I walk up to you in the commissary, and hold your hand, is that going to be too much for you?”

“Why would that ever be too much. I’d be happy to hold your hand.”

“And If we were in wardrobe together, would you let me kiss you?”

Richard blushed, “Yes.” he admitted.

Lee grabbed both of Richard’s hands and pulled him in closer.

“And tonight, when I walk you home, are you going to invite me in?”

“You know I will.”

“And would you do any of that with anyone else right now?”

“There’s no one else I’d want to do that with.”

Lee licked his lips. “Good.”

***********************************************  
The second Richard opens the door, Lee is all over him. Not that he doesn’t appreciate it, but it’s hard to get inside. They fumble together towards the couch, kissing as they fall on it. 

Lee pulls Richard closer, until he’s sitting on his lap. Richard’s not quite sure he believes this is actually happening. Any moment now, he’s sure he’ll wake up and this will just be one hot, messy dream. 

But Lee wanted to go out with him. He wanted to kiss him in wardrobe and hold his hand during lunch. And, even now, with Lee’s lips on his neck, he couldn’t quite figure out what the hell he liked him for.

Some people are just into personality He thought to himself. But then, he didn’t really have much of one of those, either. So what was it Lee was after? 

Richard had a pretty good suspicion as Lee undid his belt and unbuttoned his jeans. Richard knew he could deal with this if he just took deep breaths. This was really fun, enjoyable, even. Richard knew he wanted this. Then Lee tried to take off his shirt and all of a sudden, it was too much again. Not like this. With all these lights on. He thought. He stiffened up and Lee immediately sensed something off, moved his hands away from Richard and looked at him.

“Richard, is everything ok?”

“Um. Fine. Yeah.” He lied.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re fine.”

RIchard lifted himself off Lee’s lap, knowing that he was ruining this thing he really, really really wanted. 

“I guess maybe I’m not.” He admits.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, Lee. You’ve been wonderful. It’s just... getting late.”

“Do you have somewhere to be in the morning?”

“Erhm. Well, I’m an early riser naturally.”

“Uh huh.” Lee stood up into the silence for a second. “I suppose I should go then.”

Richard walked Lee to the door. 

“Lee?”

“Yeah?”

Richard kissed him, just a peck on the lips, but it was the first time he’d ever initiated a kiss and Lee noted it.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, too.” He replies before leaving. 

As soon as he’s gone, Richard takes an inventory of all the lamps in his place, determined to dim the lighting enough that Lee won’t actually have to see him next time they come up. 

***********************************************  
“Oh. Wasn’t expecting you home.” Evie says as Lee walks in on her, lounging on the couch in her underwear. Lee pays no mind, slumping next to her. “Bad date?”

“You’ll be happy to know Richard doesn’t LIKE me.”

“Why would I be happy about that? Is it even true?”

“Well, I’m back here, so what do you think?”

“Not wanting to jump into bed with you doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you.”

“I told him this was more than just fun.”

“Wow, Lee. Pulling out the big guns for this one.”

“I wasn’t lying, Evie.”

“Oh, well, good. You shouldn’t joke about those sort of things.”

“I really like him. But he confuses me. He seems interested when we’re out. But we get alone and he just stops. You should have seen him tonight. It was like a deer caught in headlights.”

“I’m sorry, Lee.”

“I just don’t get it. Maybe he doesn’t like me. Maybe he’s just too polite to tell me to screw off.”

“I doubt that.”

“Why?”

“Because, it’s really easy to tell you to screw off. I’ve done it 15 times this week alone.”

“I’m pouring my heart out to you. The least you can do is refrain from making bad jokes.”

“Sorry. Let’s problem solve this. He does like you, that’s for certain. But he doesn’t seem to be interested in sex… do you think he’s Asexual?”

“Oh, god, I hope not.”

“Lee, that’s terrible.”

“I’m not saying I wouldn’t date him, god what do you think I am? It would just be really, really hard. Because I am most definitely NOT asexual.”

“God do I know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Lee the whole world knows that you’re constantly thinking about sex.”

 

“Well, not constantly… Sometimes I think about food.”

“You’re a pig, do you know that?”

“Yeah.”

***********************************************  
Richard found himself alone with Dean. Which is exactly what he’d hoped for. 

“I want to ask you about something… but if you don’t want to talk about it, you have to promise me that you’ll tell me to fuck right off.” It wasn’t the most elegant start of a conversation, but Dean didn’t seem to mind.

“Alright. What’s up, Uncle?”

“No, none of that right now, please.”

“Sorry. This is my serious face… It’s on now.”

“Thank you.” Richard sighed, finding the courage to ask his question. “You and Aidan… that’s a real thing, right?”

A blush came to Dean’s face.

“I suppose it is, yeah.”

“Do you mind if I ask how it happened?”

“It’s fine. I don’t know if I have much of an answer for you. We sort of collided into each other and it’s been all fun since.”

“When it happened… the first time...were you worried?”

“Worried about what?”

“Of, um, measuring up.”

“Oh, well, Aidan’s really hot. I’ll give you that it was a bit intimidating.”

“You’re absolutely gorgeous too, though.”

“Thanks for noticing. But I’m not immune to a little self doubt.”

“How did that factor in to the whole… experience?”

“I tried not to let it get into my head. I mean, if he hadn’t wanted to be there, he wouldn’t have, would he?”

“Probably not.”

“You know, Richard, Lee likes you a lot.”

“That’s not what this is about.”

“Oh, right.. Sure. Well, when Aidan and I got together, it was because we both found each other attractive. We wouldn’t have found so many reasons to spend so much extra time together, we wouldn’t have been giving each other long, soulful looks constantly from across the room.”

“You two are forced together constantly, and you never stand across the room from each other.”

“I must have been thinking of someone else.” Dean said, leaving with a wave, most likely to find Aidan. 

***********************************************  
“So, can we talk about something?” Lee asks. His hand and Richard’s are interlocked, and they’re walking back from the restaurant down the street from Richard’s place that’s slowly becoming their favorite.

“Of course.” Richard says. They’ve made it to the door, and he unlatches it. The room is noticeably darker, even after Richard flips on the lights.

“I was talking to Evie the other night, and she said something that made me think maybe there’s something you’re not telling me.” Richard gulped. He wasn’t hiding anything that wasn’t completely obvious. 

“Oh?”

“I just want you to know, you can tell me anything. I want you to feel comfortable with me.”

“Thank you, Lee. That’s very kind. But is there a specific thing you’re hoping for me to confess?”

Lee takes a deep breath.

“Are you Asexual?”

Richard gave him a confused look.

“Asexual? No. God, not in the slightest.”

“Oh, thank god.” Lee realized what he’d just said. “I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

“Of course not. Why did you think I was?”

“You kept on freaking out whenever I tried to get past a certain point.”

“So you thought I was asexual?”

“Well, Actually, I thought you just didn’t like me. Evie thought maybe you were ace.”

“You thought I didn’t like you? I like you a lot, Lee.”

“I like you a lot too. So why are we stalling?”

It was Richard’s turn to take a deep breath.

“I was worried.”

“About what?”

“You know. This.” he motioned towards his body.

“I’m really not following you.”

“I was worried that if you saw me naked, you’d be completely turned off and never want to see me again.”

Lee could barely follow his logic.

“Richard, you’re insane.”

“I know.. But you’re crazier.”

“Why?” 

“Because you’ve seen this” He motioned to his face “And still seem to want to stick around.”

“Richard, you are absolutely gorgeous by any metric in the world.” Richard rolled his eyes. “But even if you weren’t society’s version of Adonis, I wouldn’t care. Because you’re beautiful to me.”

“What?”

“You’re beautiful to me, and I don’t care what anyone else thinks. Even you.”

Richard had never heard something so nice. He pulled Lee in for a kiss. Not a peck on the lips like last time, a REAL kiss, filled with all the passion and longing he’d been holding back from this man for weeks. 

Lee’s a little breathless from the enthusiasm, but pulls Richard in further, kissing him deeper, as his hands graze his sides. 

They continue like that for a few minutes, simply taking in the pure joy of feeling their lips together, then Lee moves his down Richard’s neck. He sighs at the attention, running his fingers through Lee’s hair as the other man moves down towards his shoulder. 

There’s a moment of tension as Lee’s hands touch the bottom hem of Richard’s shirt. He sits up and takes off his own shirt instead. Richard moves his hands up Lee’s torso, his chest, his neck. When he reaches it, he pulls Lee back to him for another scorching kiss. Lee lets the kiss linger as his hands roam under Richard’s shirt again. 

Richard looks pensive again.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” Lee assures him. 

Richard takes a deep breath. He reminds himself that he wants this, and then he takes off his shirt. 

Lee marvels for a moment. Richard is well built, with a long lean torso and a gorgeous patch of chest hair that Lee instantly wants to run his fingers through. He doesn’t understand how anyone so beautiful would want to hide from the world, but he bites his tongue, knowing that Richard doesn’t see things the same way.

“Still want to go through with this?” Richard asks.

Lee pulls him in for another kiss. Their chests are touching and it feels magnificent.

“Of course… Do you?”

“More than anything.”

They stay on the couch, kissing and caressing and genuinely enjoying each other’s company. But the slow, tender stimulation is really working for Lee. Between long, languid kisses, he asks.

“Can we move to the bedroom?” 

Richard hesitates for a second. Lee jumps right back in with “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No. I really, really do.” He says, grabbing Lee by the hand and leading him into the bedroom. 

He leaves the light off, and almost trips on some shoes he’s left out. His bedroom is a mess. Not dirty, just cluttered with clothes he hasn’t bothered to unpack or put away, books he’s half read, just random things he hasn’t figured out yet… It’s been too long to still be living like this, but Richard can’t help it. He’s always been a mess. 

Lee turns on the light. Damn it, why did he have to do that? Now, not only is his room visible, he is too.

“God, you’re beautiful.” He says, and Richard blushes. He’s always blushing around Lee, but it’s not his fault. Lee is always saying things that are too nice to be true. 

“You’re just lust drunk.”

“I can be lusty and right. They’re not mutually exclusive concepts.” 

“Fine. I’ll be beautiful for you.” 

“You’ve been doing a great job of it so far.” 

Richard switches off the lights. Lee switches them back on. 

“I want to see you, Richard.”

“I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

“Ok. Then let’s just sit here until you are.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready for that.”

“I’m willing to wait.”

“You’re mad.”

“I’m not. I just don’t want you to hide in the shadows.”

“People have sex with the lights off, Lee. It’s not unheard of.”

“Well, it should be when you look as good as you do.”

Richard knows that he’s not going to win this one, but if he’s not, Lee’s not going to either. He sits down on the bed, the lights still on.

“I don’t have any supplies.”

“What?”

“You know… supplies.” and Lee gets it. 

Lee’s made due before, but he doesn’t want his first time with Richard to be one of those times. 

“Why don’t you have any?”

“I didn’t think I’d be needing them.” Lee laughed. Richard didn’t.

“Sorry. It’s just an odd thought to me.”

“Well, it would be, to you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re so beautiful, you must have people throwing themselves at you all the time.”

“About as much as you, I’d wager.”

“No one throws themselves at me.”

Lee lunges on to Richard, illustrating just how much he’s throwing himself at him. Richard laughs, finally. 

“All right, you’ve made your point.”

Lee kisses him, playfully. 

“You know… there are other things we can do.” Lee says, wiggling those delicious eyebrows. 

“Oh? What might they be?”

Lee starts kissing down Richard’s chest. He looks up at him as he meets his belt.

“Let me show you.” 

Richard isn’t sure if he’s dreaming. This must be a dream. But he nods his head, giving dream-Lee the go ahead to unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. He pulls them down with a little help from Richard’s moving hips, and pulls down his underwear as well.

“Richard!” Lee shouts, gleefully. “You didn’t tell me you were hung!”

Richard lets out a nervous giggle.

“Please, Lee. It’s hardly like I’ve anything to write home about.”

Lee wraps his fingers around Richard’s shaft and moves up his length.

“Richard, you are definitely something to write home about.” He says, and then, he swallows his tip.

Richard fights his initial reaction, to buck his hips and delve further into Lee’s mouth, but it doesn’t take Lee long to realize what he wants, and he works his way down Richard’s honestly quite massive cock. 

After a minute or two, Richard is dying, and just holding his breath in hopes that he doesn’t make a mess or a fool of himself so early. He runs his fingers through Lee’s hair, and that really does nothing to help. Lee is addicting, and every touch he gets, he just wants more, more, more. 

Richard tilts his hips slightly, and Lee takes him in deeper. He’s at the back of Lee’s mouth now, and then Lee makes some glorious maneuver and Richard feels himself down his throat. He lets out a low groan as Lee continues to work his magic. There’s no way he’s going to last, and he taps Lee on the head to get him to look up. 

“I’m close.” He warns, and the twinkle in Lee’s eye says “Good.”

Lee moves his hand up Richard’s hip and, though it’s never worked that way before, it’s all he needs to start coming. Another low groan escapes as his hands grab hold of Lee’s hair. When he’s finished, Lee moves off Richard and slowly crawls up the bed, until he’s leaning on his shoulder. Richard moves to get up, but Lee stops him.

“Where are you going?” 

“Don’t you want me to..?”

“Give yourself a minute to recover, dear.”

“Are you hard though?”

“Of course I’m hard. I’m with you.”

“That’s a very good reason not to be.”

Lee took Richard’s face in his hands. It made him sad to see just how deluded this beautiful man was about himself. He pulled him in for a kiss, and when it was over, he said

“I promise you, you get me riled up in all the right ways. I’m going to make you see that some day.”

Richard cursed himself because he knew he was blushing. He pulled Lee in for a big hug. He still didn’t see what Lee saw in him, but he was grateful all the same. 

They stayed like that, Richard holding Lee, for a long time. Then, Richard’s hand brushed against Lee’s thigh, and started creeping into his lap. 

“What are you doing?” Lee asked, snuggling deeper into Richard’s neck.

“Repaying a favor.” he said, unzipping Lee’s jeans.

“You don’t have to do that.” Lee told him as his hand brushed against Lee’s half hard member.

“But I want to.” Richard said, wrapping his fingers around the shaft and starting to stroke Lee to full attention. 

Lee loved the way Richard’s hand looked on his cock. He moved back onto the bed, giving Richard a better angle, and access to his nipples, which he licked with gusto as his hand continued working Lee. It felt amazing, and in no time, Richard had Lee writhing in pleasure. 

Lee couldn’t remember the last time he’d come from a hand job alone (save for his own, of course, that didn’t count, because he always knew exactly what he wanted) but Richard seemed to be able to read his mind, finding the right pace and pressure, switching at the perfect time, and looking up at him in the most adorable way, it was only a matter of minutes before he was moaning Richard’s name and spilling all over his hand.

Richard smiled and kissed him, then walked to the bathroom and quickly rinsed off. Then it was straight back to bed, where a still starry eyed Lee was waiting for him. 

“Do you mind if I stay?” He asks.

“I would prefer it.” Richard says, and they both get under the covers.

In the middle of the night, Richard wakes up, startled from a random dream. He notices the arm around him, and turns to see Lee, soundly sleeping. He smiles, lays back down, and falls easily back to sleep.

The next morning, after Lee leaves, Richard goes straight out to the drugstore, and unashamedly buys a packet of condoms and a bottle of lube.

***********************************************  
“You’re in late.” Evie says, grabbing a cereal bowl as Lee walks into the kitchen.

“I spent the night at Richard’s.” Lee proudly proclaims.

“Oooh, do tell.”

“I think he likes me.”

“Well, if you spent the night.”

“And you were wrong about the Ace thing.”

“I didn’t say he was… I said maybe he was.”

“Well, your maybe was wrong.”

“Aren’t you happy. So did you guys do it?”

 

“A gentleman never kisses and tells.”

“Yeah, but you’re you.”

“Very funny.”

“So you didn’t screw. So how do you know he’s not ace?”

“Because I asked him… and went down on him.”

“Ooooh La La.”

“Oh my god, Evie, he is hung like a fucking horse.”

“Lee, that is a little over sharing.”

“But no, you don’t understand. Evie, he’s SO BIG.”

“So you’ve said. And now every time I see him I’m not going to be able to get the thought out of my head.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I wasn’t thanking you.”

***********************************************  
“So, you and Lee, eh?” Graham wasn’t the most subtle of people. They were standing around together, waiting for a scene to be set up for a re-take.

“I’m trying to stay in character.” Richard said.

“Alright.” They stood there together in silence. “So you and Thranduil, that’s a thing, eh?”

“Stop it. That’s disgusting.”

“You said stay in character.”

“Can we talk about this later?”

“Is it a secret?”

“No. But can we talk about it off the clock?”

“Aye. Fine.”

***********************************************  
Lee and Richard were at their own table in the commissary. Richard looked over to where the dwarves were all eating together.

“Do you think we should have stayed with our own?”

“Shush. Everyone will be fine if they miss us for a day here and there. How was your filming?”

“Graham wanted to know if we were “a thing””

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him not to talk to me while I was in character.” 

Lee chuckled. “I wonder how he found out.”

“Well, I haven’t exactly been keeping it a secret…” Richard realized, all of a sudden, that he should have expected that Lee wouldn’t want anyone knowing they were dating. He should have fully understood he was a moped.

“Neither have I. Elves are terrible secret keepers.” Richard didn’t think that was canonically true, but he let it slide because he was so happy to find out he was wrong.

Just then, Ian walked by and saw them sitting together. He sat down at an empty chair.

“Can I just say, you boys look lovely together.”

“Thanks Ian. You look good too.” Lee says.

“Of course I do. But I meant I just love the feeling you two put in the air.” He put his hand on Richard’s. “You’re a good match.” 

He got up and said his goodbyes. Lee chuckled again. 

“I guess we’re pretty obvious.”

Richard pulled Lee in and gave him a peck on the lips.

“I guess we are.”

***********************************************  
Richard was nervous again. They had had a lovely dinner, and a nice walk. It was beginning to become their thing. But he knew what Lee was expecting, and even though he wanted it too, he was nervous.

Lee had assured him that he was attracted to Richard. But what if that changed if he saw him in the wrong light? Deep down, he wasn’t sure he really believed that anyone could be attracted to him, least of all Lee. Yet, here he was, fumbling with his keys due to a mixture of excitement and nerves over the prospect of making love to him. 

When he finally got the door open, they slipped inside and Lee immediately sat on the couch.

“You don’t want to go to the bedroom?” Richard asked.

“Eager are we?” 

“No, no, I just thought, after last time... “

“Come sit with me.”

Richard sat down on the couch. Lee moved over to him. 

“I really like you, Richard.”

“I really like you, too.”

“And I think you’re beautiful.” Richard averts his eyes in embarrassment, Lee grabs his chin and pulls his face back. “Hey, I’m serious.” He lets him go. “And I don’t want you rushing this because you think that’s what I want.”

“Isn’t it what you want?”

“Of course I want to have sex with you. You’re beautiful.”

“You keep saying that like it’s true.”

“It is true. It’s true to me. It’s probably true to the rest of the world too, but it’s definitely true for me.”

“Thank you.”

“Richard, you’re the sweetest, most thoughtful, adorable person I’ve ever met. And you’re fucking drop dead gorgeous.” 

“Now you’re just being silly.”

“I’m not. But I will be if you want me to be.” He gives Richard a devilish smile. Richard laughs at him. 

“No. I want you to be serious. Lee, you’re the nicest, most patient and understanding person I’ve ever known. I have no idea what you want with a person like me.”

“Because you’re so used to people using you for your body?” Lee teases. Richard laughs at the thought. 

“Yes. The constant stress of looking this good is overwhelming. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

“You’re funnier than you think.” 

“Are you going to spend all night giving me compliments, or are you going to kiss me, Lee?”

Lee wastes no time, he lunges in for a kiss. Without leaving Richard’s lips, he tells him. 

“You know, you could kiss me, too.”

“Can I?” Richard asks.

“Yes, by all means.”

“That’s a good thing to keep in mind.”

Lee pulls Richard in closer, and in no time, they’re tangled up in each other. Richard runs his fingers up Lee’s back, tugging at the shirt he wishes was already off. Lee moves momentarily to rip it off, and Richard pulls him back down for a kiss, and to caress Lee’s back some more. 

“Yours, too.” Lee says between kisses, and they sit back up so Richard can remove his shirt. 

There’s a moment of tension for him, but he reminds himself that Lee has already seen so much more of him, and it makes it easier to take off. 

Lee kisses Richard’s shoulders, his neck, his chest, his stomach. He moves down to Richard’s belt, but he stops him. 

“Not yet.”

“Ok.” Lee says, and then Richard changes positions, and suddenly, Lee is underneath him. He takes his sweet time, kissing down his chest and stomach, until he reaches Lee’s belt, and unlatches it, continuing to down the thin happy trail that led well, to happiness. 

“Wow, Lee.”

“Oh please. You should have said that last night.”

“I didn’t get as intimate a look.” Richard said, smiling up at him.

“Well, please, look all you want.”

“I think I have a better idea.” Richard says, and he takes Lee down in one swoop. Lee nearly goes cross eyed.

“That. IS. a good idea.” Lee says, and places his hands on Richard’s head.

He comes up for air after a minute.

“Don’t be afraid to let yourself go.” He says, and then he’s back on Lee’s cock, bobbing his head for a minute before taking him down his throat again. 

Lee’s about to explode, and he doesn’t want it to end like this. 

“Richard, stop.” Richard moans, the vibrations around Lee’s cock intensely pleasurable. “Please. I don’t want to finish so soon.” Richard moves off him.

“Why not?”

“Because, I want to be with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, god, yes. Since the first time I saw you.”

Richard thinks for a second. He knew he wanted Lee too, for just as long.

“Let’s go to the bedroom.”

Lee steps out of his pants and leaves them with their shirts on the livingroom floor.

When they get to the bedroom, Richard stops Lee as he reaches for the light switch.

“Please, no.”

“I want to see you.”

“I don’t want you to see me.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want you to change your mind halfway through. It would break my heart.”

“It breaks my heart that you think I would do that.”

“I’m sorry, Lee. I’m not used to someone like you being so nice to me.”

Lee takes Richard in his arms and simply holds him, rocking back and forth in his attempt not to assault him with his massive hard-on. He lets him go, kisses him, and walks to the bathroom. He opens the door and turns on the light, then comes back into the almost pitch black room.

“Now I can see your eyes, but you can still hide if you have to.”

Richard kisses him. “Thank you.” he says, and Lee kisses him back. 

“No, thank you.” He says, and he guides Richard to the bed. “I brought stuff, but it’s in my jacket.” Lee says.

“Don’t worry.” Richard says, he rolls to the side of the bed, and pulls out his lube and condoms.

“Well Well Well, look who’s a boy scout now.” Lee says.

“I think the girl scouts are always prepared.”

“No, it’s the boy scouts.”

“Do you really want to fight about this now?”

“Ok. Let’s just agree that it’s both.”

“The important thing here is that we are.” Richard hands Lee the condom, and he opens the package and rolls it on. He kisses Richard, who attempts to roll over. Lee grabs his arm.

“No, like this.”

“It’s better from behind.”

“That’s an opinion. I want to see you.”

“I thought we already went over this.”

“Richard, please.”

Richard lays back down, and Lee slides between his legs, grabbing the lube and slicking up two fingers.

Richard winces at the idea, but when Lee moves his hand between his cheeks, he only feels one finger gently pushing in. It takes a minute, Richard is nervous, therefore tight, but Lee is patient, and works him tenderly, only when Richard’s asking for it does he slide in a second finger. He circles Richard’s cock with his other hand, slowly jerking as his fingers work their magic inside him. 

After a few minutes, Richard is dying for more.

“Lee, I need you. Please.” He pants.

“I can’t say no to that.” Lee tells him, and spreads his legs just a bit wider as he lines up over him. “You’re sure you’re ready?”

“Oh god, yes, Lee.”

Lee slowly starts moving into him, loving every second of it. Richard is writhing under him and it feels so good. The bathroom light is just enough to see his face overwhelmed with pleasure, and Lee assumes he looks the same way. 

The angle isn’t as deep as some, but Lee thinks it’s well worth it to be able to see every tiny movement that Richard makes, to be able to run his hand over Richard’s stomach, to feel his legs wrap around Lee as he thrusts deeper, pulls back, and thrusts again. 

At some point, he falls over, catching himself inches from Richard’s face, and nearly falling out completely. He doesn’t though, and their new angle allows Lee to steal a kiss before getting back up. He can feel himself getting close, and he’s got a determined mind, bent on getting Richard there before he comes. Unfortunately, his body isn’t quite as strong willed as his mind, and he slips into orgasm seconds after he’s promised himself he won’t. 

Richard doesn’t seem to mind. When Lee finishes, Richard gently wraps his arms around him, guiding him onto his chest. Lee takes a second to breathe in Richard, absolutely enchanted by everything about him. But it’s only one second, before he rolls off of him, and places his hand around Richard’s cock. 

“I wanted to make you come.” He admits.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Richard, I want to.”

Richard looks at him suspiciously. He looks glorious in the tiny sliver of light. Lee continues.

“It’s only fair.”

“Oh, is it?” and then Lee’s moved his wrist the right way and a wave of pleasure washes over Richard. 

“Yes.” He says, devilish smile driving Richard wild. Lee starts kissing down his stomach, and it feels so good, Richard stops protesting, letting him luxuriate on his torso, strategically placing kisses on his hips, his thighs, his bloody knees, anywhere but his throbbing cock. 

“Are you trying to kill me?” He asks, Lee looks up from Richard’s shin and flashes that devil’s grin again. 

“You’ll thank me in a minute.” He promises. 

And he’s completely right. Richard is convinced he’s been sent to heaven when Lee’s lips finally wrap around his cock. He works him, good and deep, and it’s only a matter of minutes before he’s gushing like a fountain, Lee’s finger somehow finding it’s way back inside his asshole, giving him an extra bang for his buck. 

When he’s finished, Lee gets up and walks to the bathroom to dispose of the condom and wash his hands. He flicks off the light and crawls over Richard back into bed. 

He wraps his arms around Richard and kisses him on the forehead. Richard touches one of Lee’s arms and yawns. He’s worn out, and completely relaxed for the first time in what seems like forever. 

***********************************************  
A few weeks later, Richard and Lee are watching TV and eating ice cream on the couch at his and Evangeline’s place. 

The front door opens and a haggard looking man walks in.

“Norman! I didn’t know you were coming.” Lee greets him. 

“Surprise! Where’s my Evie?”

“She’s taking a nap. Want me to go wake her?”

“Nah. I know how to wake her up.” He winks at Lee, knowingly. “Oh. Sorry, I didn’t realize you had company.”

“It’s fine. Norman, this gorgeous creature is my boyfriend, Richard.”

Norman doesn’t miss a beat. He sticks out his hand, and Richard shakes it. 

“Pleasure to meet you.” Norman says. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve just been on a 13 hour plane ride, and I’ve got to go greet my own gorgeous creature.” Lee chuckles as Norman walks the familiar hallway back to Evangeline’s room. He sits back down. Realizing that he’s finished his ice cream, he dips his spoon into Richard’s bowl. Richard swipes the bowl out of his reach.

“What kind of an introduction was that?”

“What? You are my boyfriend.”

“Not that part, the gorgeous creature part.”

“That parts just as true.”

“The creature part, maybe.”

“The gorgeous part, most definitely.”

“You’re an odd duck, Lee.”

 

“An odd duck with a sexy boyfriend.”

Richard rolls his eyes. Lee rolls his, back. They still had a long way to go before Richard would admit to how beautiful he was. 

“Well, I guess that makes two of us.” Richard says, and then kisses Lee.

“I guess so.” Lee says, and as he kisses him back, he grabs ahold of Richard’s bowl.

**Author's Note:**

> A few foot notes:
> 
> John Merrick is the Elephant Man
> 
> Speaking as a gay woman, Cosmos are pretty gay.
> 
> I highly doubt Lee really thinks that no one is entirely straight (but I do) 
> 
> Lots of women are into casual sex.
> 
> Adonis was a greek figure known for his beauty.
> 
> Mopeds- Fun to ride, but you don't want your friends to catch you on one (usually used to describe fat girls) 
> 
> The motto for both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts is "Be Prepared"
> 
> I really hated writing the parts where Richard hated himself. I understood them because I'm not exactly the shiniest new toy myself, but it just felt terrible to write anything negative about some one who is obviously flawless (ha!) Ok, maybe not. But he is definitely a very beautiful man, so pretending even for the sake of the story, was super hard. 
> 
> Also, and I know no one cares about this, but I'm going to write it anyways: If I've done my math correctly (and there's no guarantee of that) This fic marks the point where I have now written and published over 100,000 words this year. So, since that was my goal, and I hit in in August, I guess I should go for 150,000 by the end of the year, yeah?


End file.
